Moving west again, we come next to Buckinghamshire. This is another county which I have passed through more than I have stopped in, but I did visit Aylesbury on business on one occasion. I was there only for an evening, but it seemed to me to be a pleasant little town. Oddly enough, although there is a town called Buckingham after which the county takes its name, it is Aylesbury that is the county town. Aylesbury is possibly better known for its ducks which have white plumage, yellow feet and a pale pink beak. This developed because of the grit they were fed which is characteristic of the Aylesbury area. Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddleduck was an Aylesbury.
High Wycombe is a town that was at one time the centre of the English furniture manufacture using wood from the beech trees which covered the Chiltern Hills. A traditional ceremony of the town since the medieval period is the weighing of the mayor, where at the beginning and end of the mayor's serving year, they are weighed in full view of the public to see whether or not they have gained weight at the taxpayers' expense. This custom is still in use, and the same weighing apparatus is used as in the 19th century. The Town Crier announces "And no more!" if the Mayor has not put weight on or "And some more!" if they have. The actual weight of the Mayor is not declared.
Although the Chilterns run from Oxfordshire through to Hertfordshire, the bulk of this chain of chalk uplands is in Buckinghamshire. They are very reminiscent of the South Downs and it is here that a successful re-introduction of the red kite has taken place. These scavenging birds were once common, even in the centre of London, but were extinct in England by the end of the 18th century. It is now not uncommon to see a dozen or more wheeling in the sky on their 5-foot wingspan – a magnificent sight. Our picture this week is of one of these birds, courtesy of redkite.co.uk.
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